Strokkur, Ice and Horses

30 januari, 201630 januari, 2016 / Leya / 40 kommentarer

Heading for the Geysir area in the cold of the morning. There is not much traffic in Iceland, and they do not sand or salt their roads.

This is post number six on Iceland, and there is one or two more to come. If you have missed out on the other ones, here are the links.

A Taste of Reykjavik, Heading for South Iceland, More South Iceland Magic, Land of Ice and Fire, Landscapes of Iceland, Thingvellir.

As usual- click the pictures to enlarge.

Open sky, and the coldest day so far…my hands were quite stiff from the start. Strong wind and we were told not to open more than one door at a time …

Slowly the sun opened up the landscape. – 12 degrees and no possibility to leave the car because of the icy road, the wind and the cold.

The small farmsteads all awake – the horses too.

All of them a bit far from the road –

– but we waited patiently…

The Geysir area was not crowded with people today, so we gathered around Strokkur – that spouts every 8-10 minutes, 20-30 metres, sometimes with a double puff.

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After warming up our hands and faces inside the restaurant, we talked about Geysir being the first Geysir in the world – and giving name to all existing Geysirs. He is no longer active, even if he came back to life for some months after the last volcano eruption.

Sadly enough it was impossible to walk up to Geysir this time – As you can see in the header, the ice made it nearly impossible without risking your life…

In the heated car, we headed for Gullfoss and the river Hvitá – White, in English. Many glacier rivers are named Hvitá because of their colour.

On the road we finally met Icelandic horses close-up. They were standing quite still with the tough wind coming from behind.

These horses came to Iceland with the Norse Vikings, in the 9th-10th century, and there has been no cross breeding for 1000 years. This means that there is no purer breed anywhere in the world. The Icelandic horses are small, long-lived and hardy. In their native country they have few diseases. In fact, Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.

I think you agree with me that they are also extremely beautiful!

Landscapes of Iceland – Thingvellir

27 januari, 201628 januari, 2016 / Leya / 34 kommentarer

On our way to Thingvellir this cold and beautiful morning.

Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance. It lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at the northern end of Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.

AlÞingi, the Icelandic Parliament, was established at Þingvellir in 930, and remained there until 1798. The National Park was founded in 1930, marking the 1.000th anniversary of the Althing, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks faults which traverse the region, the largest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. This also often causes the earthquakes in the area.

According to the Book of Settlements, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse and Celtic origin settled in Iceland, and as the population grew there was a need for a general assembly.

The foundation of the Icelandic parliament is said to be the founding of the nation of Iceland, and the first parliamentary proceedings in the summer of 930 laid the ground for a common cultural heritage and national identity. Þingvellir plays a central role in the history of the country.

Þingvellir was the centre of Icelandic culture. Every year during the Commonwealth period, people would flock to Þingvellir from all over the country, sometimes numbering in the thousands. They set up dwellings with walls of turf and rock and temporary roofing and stayed in them for the two weeks of the assembly.

The Drowning Pool for potential witches

Although the duties of the assembly were the main reason for going there, ordinary people gathered at Þingvellir for a wide variety of reasons. There were merchants, sword-sharpeners, tanners and entertainers – and ale-makers brewed ale to them all. News was told from distant parts; games and feasts were held. Itinerant farmhands looked for work and vagrants begged.

A flagpole on Law Rock marks the place where the law was recited from.

Þingvellir was a meeting place for everyone in Iceland, laying the foundation for the language and the famous literature – the Eddas and the Sagas.

A Law Rock of ones own?

In fact, still today, young people can read the old texts from the 12th century – not many languages have lasted that much unchanged. This is possible due to the conservative – and innovative and creative – use of the old words, combined with less borrowed words than any other language. As an example: vegabréf is a combination of veg (road) and bréf (letter) = passport!

The landscape around Thingvellir – magnificAent.

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Short historical facts: Wikipedia.

Land of Ice and Fire

23 januari, 201624 januari, 2016 / Leya / 39 kommentarer

On leaving Vik, the landscape slowly turned into even darker earth colours. A last glimpse of the church half way up in the mountains.

Just around the mountain ridge, the landscape opened up to the sea again.

A glacier river graced the crossroads. Mýrdalsjökull in low light.

Arriving at Seljalandsfoss, Vestmannaeyar just sat in my lens…again.

The sun setting over the faraway islands, almost made me forget the Bride’s veil, Seljalandsfoss, waiting for us on the mountain.

Fire on the left hand side – and ice on the other..

I do not understand how someone could have managed to get behind the falls this day – the icy path made us stay away from trying…But, as you can see, someone did.

I wonder what sort of shoes you must wear to manage this! Where is the path? This is the rail to the steps…

Windows capturing the last of the setting sun over Vestmannaeyar.

We slowly returned to Reykjavik, silent and very satisfied with this glorious day.

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Travel theme: Future

23 januari, 2016 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

I hope for a green and brighter future, but alas…this is my potential scenario.

WPC: Optimistic

22 januari, 201622 januari, 2016 / Leya / 27 kommentarer

Spring!

New Life!

Need more optimistic thoughts? Click here.

A Taste of Reykjavik

17 januari, 201617 januari, 2016 / Leya / 40 kommentarer

My greatest love in this beautiful city is of course the symbol of Reykjavik, Hallgrimskirkja (1937, 74,5 metres, and named after the Icelandic priest and writer Hallgrímur Pétursson.) by architect Guðjón Samúelsson. The church is spectacular in many ways – not only from the outside, but also the inside is serene and breathtakingly beautiful.

We arrived late in the evening this time, and walked slowly up to her in the freezing cold, Icelandic darkness.

In front of the church stands the Leif Eriksson statue. A gift from the US 1930 when the Icelandic Parliament, AllÞingi, celebrated its 1000 year jubilée. The Viking Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik Röde, who settled in Greenland. Leif himself was the first white man to discover America.

Let us go inside. My greatest love here is the magnificent organ.

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Houses in Reykjavik have to be strongly built for the rough climate. Some old wooden houses are being restored to show the old architecture – on which of course the new one is built. But I doubt any new house here has a wooden structure.

Restored old architecture

Not wood – but still beautiful

New materials – being repainted

The Concert Hall

Parliament and the Cathedral

What is difficult to see in these snowy pictures, is the typical Icelandic colourful houses. In my summer memories, Reykjavik looks like this:

Tjörnin is the lake in the middle of the city. There are always people here, playing, feeding the birds, or just walking and chatting.

The main shopping street ends with Hallgrimskirkja. And that is where we too end our snowy, first walk in Iceland and Reykjavik.

Travel theme: Entertainment

16 januari, 201616 januari, 2016 / Leya / 9 kommentarer

The world has, within some days only, lost two giants in entertainment: David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Ailsa’s Travel theme this week is all about Entertainment. The Show must go on. That is the only way to cope with Life.

WPC: Alphabet

16 januari, 201616 januari, 2016 / Leya / 7 kommentarer

Alphabet – our communication depends on it. Printing depended on these…no longer in use, but made into beautiful art – of another kind. For more inspirational alphabets, click here.

Travel theme: Waves

2 januari, 20162 januari, 2016 / Leya / 14 kommentarer

Travel theme at Ailsa’s – Waves. Mine are lava waves – show us Your interpretation! Click here for inspiration.

A Better Year to Come

31 december, 20151 januari, 2016 / Leya / 15 kommentarer

I hope the world will see a better year, 2016, with peace and love in heart and mind. And I hope for a joyous, Happy New Year to you and yours!

My last post this year, is from my walk in the forest today. Contemplating 2015 and what will come with the new year. The sun spilled its glory from an almost clear sky – so – what better to do than spending the whole New Year’s Eve outdoors, hiking?

Freezing cold from the start…

…with the sun trying to reach over the tree tops.

Succeeding now and then – here from the south.

We had not walked here since the last great gale, and several times the path was totally covered in fallen trees.

The untouched parts were shimmering in the low, golden sun.

Some parts remained white and slippery, and my boys had to walk slowly not to fall into the mud.

Some of my favourite ice – in Sweden we call it håris (hair ice) – and if you look closely, you will understand why. (The header picture)

Heading home again, the sun setting and the real cold returning.

2016, we do not know what lies ahead of us, we can only hope, and work each one of us to make a better world for ourselves and for our fellow passengers on this planet.